Mumbai’s Famous Khar Gymkhana Produces 400 Kgs of Waste. But Doesn’t Dispose Any of It!

The members have installed a compost machine, and today, most of the wet waste generated is transformed into compost and used on the gymkhana’s cricket field. They supply the surplus to the BMC and neighbouring societies.

For the last two years, all trash generated in the gymkhana’s premises are put to good use. And this has been made possible thanks to the collective efforts of members of this historic gymkhana that was inaugurated in 1935.

Source: Khar Gymkhana

The members have installed a compost machine, and today, most of the wet waste generated is transformed into compost and used on the gymkhana’s cricket field. They supply the surplus to the BMC and neighbouring societies.

Roughly, 400 kg of wet waste is generated in the gymkhana daily, and it is converted to over 150 kg of compost. The amount of dry waste generated every day amounts to another 100 kg that is collected by the BMC. In 10 months alone, a whopping eight tempos of compost has been collected by the BMC.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Khar Gymkhana’s treasurer, Madhavi Ashar said, “World over, people are focussing on environment conservation, while in our country it’s the other way round. Earlier we used to recycle products, but now we are following western economies and using disposable products.”

This zero-waste initiative is now inspiring neighbouring societies and clubs too. Ekta Heights, a residential co-operative society has replicated the model. Many members of the club are also coming forward to use compost from the gymkhana for gardening purposes.

The next step on the gymkhana’s ‘Go Green’ list is to encourage members to switch to e-copy of the gymkhana magazine than the hard copy. Over 200 people made the switch in less than three days in a bid to save paper.

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